The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has said that he may travel to Tripoli in the next few days to discuss the Lockerbie bombing issue.

Mr Annan was speaking in Algiers, where he has been having discussions with Algerian government leaders about the future of the Western Sahara.

He said he had been in contact with the Libyan authorities and it was possible he would go there after a two-day visit to Tunisia.

The United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya for its refusal to hand over two Libyans accused by Britain and the United States of being involved in the bombing of an American airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie ten years ago, killing two-hundred and seventy people.